Not Quite Sirius Just RAB
by misswhiteblack
Summary: Being a younger brother isn't always the easiest job in the world and nothing changes when you get older ... at least not for Regulus Black


**Summary: **Being a younger brother isn't always the easiest job in the world and nothing changes when you get older … at least not for Regulus Black.

Regulus Aphilius Black hadn't always been the favourite of the family. Until his older brother Sirius came back from his first year at Hogwarts Regulus had been quite neglected by his parents. He supposed that was why he chose to hate Sirius so much. Sirius had been the perfect son for the first ten years of Regulus' life. Nothing Sirius' could do would be seen as wrong in his parent's eyes. He was the apple of his mother's eye and his father's pride and joy but when Sirius came home from Hogwarts after his first year everything changed and at the time Regulus welcomed it.

Sirius had changed when he came home after the first year at Hogwarts and Regulus couldn't understand. Sirius argued with their parents so much about the family. He refused to believe in their ideals and he had even started avoiding Bellatrix. Sirius and Bellatrix had been each other's favourite cousins but suddenly Sirius preferred to be in the company of their older cousin Andromeda. Andromeda was the family outcast who didn't believe in the family ideals. Regulus slowly saw Sirius become another Andromeda and Regulus himself became the favourite child. He supposed that he just wanted to impress them.

When he started Hogwarts he found himself in Slytherin with all his other cousins but not with Sirius. Sirius was a Gryffindor along with Andromeda, traitors to the family, filth, scum of the earth and Regulus quickly learned that if he wanted to remain the favourite child he wouldn't follow in his brother's footsteps. Yet at school Slytherin was seen as the worst of the houses and not many Slytherin's had friends out with their own house. Regulus found himself taken under his cousin's wing instead of being with his beloved older brother. Sirius was extremely popular in school along with his best friends James Potter, Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew. Sirius and James could have any girl they wanted and did. Regulus longed to be like his brother but he was too afraid of loosing the love of his parents.

At home Sirius rarely left his room and Regulus felt a little neglected by his older brother. They had always got on well as children but now everything was different. It was like Sirius was ashamed of him or something and it made Regulus resent having Sirius as an older brother. He used to creep into Sirius' room sometimes and ask him about why he no longer loved their parents. Sirius' would always reply with the same thing which Regulus never understood. "The Black idea was never right, it was the White's." It wasn't until later that Regulus understood.

The White family the long time rivals of the Black family had always believed in opposite ideals. In the war the Black family, although none of them were Death Eaters, believed that the Dark Lord had the right idea by purifying the races. The Whites opposed and so it had always been since the very start when Salazar Slytherin had wanted to allow only purebloods at Hogwarts. Regulus knew that far back in the line their was some connection of the Black family with Salazaar Slytherin and he also knew that in some way the White's were related to Rowena Ravenclaw which was why it was no surprise to find every single White in Hogwarts in the house of the Raven.

Regulus watched his brother throughout his years at Hogwarts. He watched him do well in school getting good grades, shooting good goals, scoring with beautiful girls. Regulus always looked up to Sirius even though in his head he told himself that he hated his brother. As he grew older he trained himself to act like his older brother didn't exist but he still saw every argument between his parents and Sirius. He saw his mother and father curse his name when he wasn't in the room. Although he pretended there had never been an older brother it still hurt when Sirius left. Sirius left him all alone. He was furious at Sirius for that but he wanted nothing more than his brother to come home to see him. That summer he watched his mother cry alone in her room thinking no one could see her. She never let her husband know and she thought she never let Regulus know but he saw, he heard and he cursed Sirius for doing that to her. Yet he also knew all the howlers she sent Sirius at school when Narcissa or Bellatrix wrote back with some news of what Sirius had been up to.

Regulus wished that he had been brave enough; he wished he had had as much courage as Sirius to tell his parents that he didn't believe in their ideals. He wished he had been brave enough to walk away from his Slytherin friends and go up to his brother and tell him that nothing would make him happier than to be like Sirius. Yet he was a coward and he knew it. He felt it within his heart. He looked for appreciation, for some notice from Sirius and when he got none he resulted to insulting his friends. Sirius was always furious with him for that and Regulus always felt worse rather than better from insulting James or Remus or Peter. He just wanted his brother to notice him but Sirius hated him.

Things continued that way throughout Hogwarts and as he gradually got older Regulus began to be aware of the good looks that both he and his brother had. They were both very similar and attracted the similar sort of girls. Regulus felt proud that he took after his broth in some respect. Everyone knew the two were brothers and Regulus was glad to know that Sirius was his brother but he pretended he hated it, hated looking like him. Regulus came to realise that both himself and his brother tended to be very similar when it came to dating. They both dated the similar kind of girls and often the relationships didn't last very long. However as they got older, they matured more he realised that the relationship that they both had had become more serious. Sirius started dating Hesita Jones and Regulus started dating Aquila Wilkes. They both split the relationships within days of each other. When Regulus started dating Ramona Hetsworth he found out that Sirius had started dating Emmeline Vance. Regulus realised that they were indeed very similar.

Yet the relationship of the brothers never went back to the way it was. Sirius left Hogwarts and then a year later so did Regulus immediately joining the Death Eaters along with his usual Slytherin crowd. Bellatrix, Lucius Malfoy, Rodolphus Lestrange, Thomas Rosier, Aquila Wilkes, Cartwright Goyle, Herbert Crabbe and all the rest. He was the youngest. At eighteen years old Regulus was a Death Eater. He was ruthless. He tortured muggles, burnt homes, stole information and kept tabs on those suspected of being members of the Order of the Phoenix. He thought he was invincible, he believed that he longer cared about what happened to his brother and his friends, he believed that he was fighting for the right side. The side that made his parents proud of him but he didn't realise how wrong he was.

He watched her through his grey eyes looking through the holes of the mask and he was furious with himself. She was huddled in the corner her wand on his own hand. His fellow Death Eater, Bowman lay dead on the floor and Everett would be due in at any moment. Why were they there? Why were they there at her home? He could hardly believe that the beautiful brunette in the corner was the same girl he had been in love with for the last six years. She had been his idea of Aphrodite since fifth year at Hogwarts. He adored her. He would never want to hurt her but there she was huddled in the corner, hands resting protectively over the swell of her stomach that told him she was pregnant and she looked terrified, terrified of him, Serena Rosa White, his sister in-law. He wasn't sure what he was going to do when Everett burst in through the door. Before Regulus had even made his decision there was a flash of green light and Everett lay dead on the floor.

Now he stood outside the cave remembering everything from his life. He had been on the run for weeks now, on the run from people he had once called friends who were on the orders of a madman he had once called master. He refused to give them Serena. He refused to let them have her. He hid her making himself the Secret Keeper not even telling Sirius where she was until the very last moment. He wouldn't let them use her to get to Sirius. Not that it mattered any more. Sirius had swapped Pettigrew in for the Potter's secret keeper. Regulus knew that Pettigrew would sell out the Potters and he was sorry for it. Sirius and Serena were safe however His niece or nephew whom Serena was carrying was safe even though he wasn't. He knew that once he returned from inside that cave he would be hunted down and killed. The locket dangled in his hand. He opened it flat on his palm and slipped a small piece of parchment into it. He knew it off by heart.

_To the Dark Lord,_

_I know I will be dead long before you read this_

_but I want you to know that it was I who discovered your secret._

_I have stolen the real Horcrux and intend to destroy it as soon as I can._

_I face death in the hope that when you meet your match,_

_you will be mortal once more._

_R.A.B_

Closing over the locket he sighed. His mind flooded with memories of his youth, of his life. He was proud to be there; proud to finally be fighting the good fight. After all the years of wanting to be like Sirius and wanting Sirius to notice him Regulus felt proud. Although Sirius would never know exactly what his little brother was about to do at least Serena would know. Clutching the locket Regulus Aphilius Black walked forward into the cave and finally felt that he was no longer a coward.


End file.
